We met in high school. Like all innocent love affairs, it started slowly but then washed over me suddenly.

You became an integral part of my life. You were the one for me. Even though my friends did not understand, even though they despised you, I always thought you were perfect.

However, on July 2, 2014, you came to a decision. The three of you decided to quit making music as Death Grips. For four years and through five albums, you were always there for me, but now, suddenly, you are not.

But what does that mean for me? Death Grips has been my favorite band for four of the most life changing years of my life. How can I move on from that?

What does it mean for you when your favorite band or artist decides to call it quits? What is the appropriate behavior for the loss of your musical hero or heroes?

Here are some of the steps that have helped me cope with the loss of my favorite band, and steps that can hopefully help you when your favorite artist or group becomes inactive.

1. Take some time to listen to them. Instead of complaining about how they are no more, cherish their legacy. Death Grips have put out five of the best albums I have ever heard, and since their break up I have listened to every song they released during their time as a band. Digesting their discography as a whole has allowed me to see the impact of each release on me from a more complete perspective.

 

2. Take some time to listen to their side projects, past projects, new projects or collaborations. Odds are if your favorite artists are actually creative musicians, then the project you love is not their first time expressing their musical creativity. If it is, then odds are it will not be their last. Though this other work might not be quite up to par with your favorite projects by your beloved artist(s), listening to this other work can oftentimes give you a new appreciation for your favorite artist.

 

3. Take some time to listen to new artists. With your favorite group or artist no longer producing new music, you are now in the perfect position to listen to the artists that you put on the backburner while you were too busy obsessing over your musical main squeeze.

 

4. Do not give up the hope of a reunion or new material. Bands, like people, change their minds. In the past year alone, numerous bands that I had presumed dead decided to return to their projects by touring and releasing new music.

Hopefully these tips will help you in your time of need, which I hope is not for quite some time. As for me, I think I need to put on a Death Grips record.